All or Nothing
by coolsville times
Summary: There's a love triangle at the SHIELD base and Pietro's sick of it. He decides to confront the center of said triangle but things don't go the way he planned. Don't assume, things aren't always as they appear. Rated just to be safe.


_All or Nothing_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own x-men, x-men evolution or the characters depicted in this fic. That all belongs to Marvel.

**Summary:** There's a love triangle at the SHIELD base and Pietro's sick and tired of it. He decides to confront the center of said triangle but things don't go the way he planned.

**Notes:** I have never really written a Brotherhood as SHIELD fic before, I've never written a love-triangle before and I've never written an X-23/Avalanche fic either so this is a first on many levels. Please go easy on me.

I would also like to say that this fic is dedicated to Valkyrien who is just coming back from a semi-long hiatus away from fanfiction. Welcome back, girl, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

_All or Nothing..._

Pietro sat sullenly in his room at the SHIELD base listening to the sounds of the air conditioning and Lance and Laura's love making next door. He hated it when they were together but what really got him was when they were together in Lance's room, the room right next to his.

Pietro guessed it was his own fault that they were together. He was the one who had told Laura he wanted to keep things casual. What had he been thinking? He loved Laura more than anything but he had wanted to keep up his playboy persona as well. It hadn't crossed his mind for even a second that she would find solace in Lance's arms but she had.

Lance and Laura didn't love each other, though, Pietro had guessed that much. Lance was on the rebound after yet another break up with Kitty and Laura was on the rebound from him. At least that's what Wanda had said. She should know, she and Laura were best friends.

That was another thing that burned Pietro up on the inside. Laura had friends all over the base but ever since they had decided to be casual, she had rarely spent any time with him. She was always off with Freddy, Todd or John and sometimes she would be sitting in the living room with Lance or in the kitchen with Wanda. Wanda hadn't even cared that Laura had broken his heart. When she found out, she told him it served him right and slammed her door in his face. Gee, what a sister she was.

Pietro winced as Laura moaned in the next room. Was she thinking about him or had her feelings for him diminished? Had she given herself to Lance completely? It was a hard thought to process but it was an avenue that must be considered. He really had a way of royally screwing things up, didn't he? Like so many other times in his life, Pietro had put himself on a high shelf and made himself out to be so special that no girl would ever get over him, only this time the girl had and it just so happened that he cared for her deeply.

Pietro would never admit it to anyone, except maybe her, but she was his world. She was all he thought about now a days. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing her face, he couldn't appreciate a good looking woman without thinking that she looked better, he couldn't dream without dreaming of her hands caressing every muscle on his body, or her voice moaning his name in pleasure. Just thinking about all the ways she had wormed herself into his thoughts made his body shiver with a hot lust that only she could quench and it definitely didn't help that she was moaning in the next room. The only thing that stopped his lust from peaking was hearing her scream _his_ name. The name Pietro had learned to hate.

Lance was his friend, had been for a long time but now that he was with the girl that Pietro wanted more than anything in the world, Pietro couldn't help but hate him. It was hard to hate his best friend but Pietro found a way around it.

It seemed that everywhere he went, Laura and Lance were there and even though they most likely had no true feelings for each other that extended past friendship, they would flaunt their affair right in front of his face. Lance was most likely doing it to fill the void that Kitty had left but Laura, Laura was doing it to eat at him, he knew. She wanted Pietro to feel as bad as he had made her feel and she was succeeding probably more than she even knew. He couldn't blame her, though, he had hurt her and he had known what he was doing as he explained the situation to her. He had hurt her because he was selfish and now she was hurting him out of spite, but he could hardly hold a grudge. Not against a creature so beautiful, so fatally beautiful.

Pietro unconsciously listened as Laura reached her climax, screaming Lance's name in ecstasy, so loud the entire base probably heard it. He tried to block it out but to no avail. Fate was punishing him and though he could just leave his room, his feet would not allow him this peaceful solution. Not to mention that he could accidentally bump into her in the hall.

That was one thing Pietro always noticed, she never stayed the night. She would go to Lance and they would make love however many times it took for them to immerse themselves in physical needs and frivolity and then she would leave, never allowing Lance the pleasure of sleeping with her in his arms.

Did that mean Pietro still had a chance? Who knew? Laura was very complex but one thing was for certain, Pietro still loved her and even through their mutual hurt, he wanted to be with her.

It was then that Pietro began thinking, thinking of a way to get her to listen to him, give him a second chance but he knew he didn't have much time. It was either tonight or never and Pietro knew as soon as he heard Lance's deep moan forming her name that it wouldn't be long before Laura retreated to her own room and his chance would be lost.

Quietly walking to his open door, Pietro waited for Lance's own door to open and close. Laura would have to come by his room to get to her own and even though Pietro didn't know what he was going to say, he knew how he was going to get her in the same room with him.

Pietro listened carefully as he heard the shuffling of clothes next door and the turn of a door knob. Pietro's breathing grew ragged as the door to Lance's room opened and Laura quickly whispered 'good-night' to her lover. The sound of Lance's lips on Laura's echoed in the dark hallway and Pietro feared they might decide on another round. Those fears disappeared as Lance's door shut and the lock quietly slid into place only to be replaced by new fears. The fear that she wouldn't listen to him, walk out of his room and his life forever. The fear of only seeing each other on missions and not being able to talk civilly in the hall.

Pietro shook his head and gathered his wits as a dark shadow approached his doorway. When Laura was just about past his room, Pietro shot up behind her, brought his arms around her middle and grabbed her wrists securely. Using his strength as leverage, Pietro picked her up, hands still holding her wrists into place and carried her into his room. Laura struggled in his arms and he fought to close the door without being stabbed.

When Pietro finally let go of her, Laura swung around, claws out and prepared for battle.

"Pietro, what the hell do you think you're doing? Sneaking up on someone like that in the middle of the night. I have half a mind to stab you right here and now just for the hell of it." She growled out but sheathed her claws none the less.

Pietro struggled to regain the energy he had lost in getting her into his room and paused to get his breathing under control.

"I needed to talk to you." He got out between breaths.

Laura looked him over curiously, taking in his attire. Standing there in just a pair of jeans, he looked about ready for bed. Looking closer, she could tell that he hadn't slept in, what looked like to her, at least a fortnight. Digging into the recesses of her mind, she tried to remember something that would have happened two weeks ago to keep him awake.

Fury hadn't put him on a mission in at least a month, so that wasn't it. Nothing unusual was going on around the base, no construction to keep him awake and Freddy's loud snoring couldn't possibly be heard from his room, except maybe by her.

Laura gulped as realization hit her square in the face. It was about two weeks ago when he informed her that their relationship would go no further than friends, casual sex at the most. It had also been about two weeks since Kitty and Lance broke up so that meant that it had been two weeks since she and Lance had begun to see each other regularly.

Looking down at the floor guiltily, she hoped that his hearing was failing him. She hoped that hers and Lance's nightly rendezvous weren't the reason for his insomnia. Her guilt lasted but a second, however for when she looked back up into his hopeful face, she remembered that that was the look she had worn two weeks ago. She remembered that two weeks ago he had broken her heart. What more could he possibly have to say?

"That doesn't mean you can go around snatching people from the hallway in the middle of the night." She gritted out angrily, trying her best to keep her tone down. Knowing Lance, he was probably already asleep and she had no intention of waking him for the sake of yelling at Pietro. Besides, Lance had been through so much already, he didn't need to find her in Pietro's room right after their love making. Having had one woman cheat on him already, he didn't need another and even though they weren't dating or anything, Laura still felt a responsibility to him. Pietro had used her and then threw her away; she wouldn't do the same thing to Lance.

"I know and I'm sorry." Pietro breathed, his energy was back and his breathing patterns had returned to normal.

Laura waited for a moment, thinking that he would say whatever it was that he needed to so that she could leave but that didn't seem to be the case.

"I don't have all night, Maximoff. I'd really like some rest." She sighed, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, fixating the tiles found there with her emerald stare.

Pietro sighed. So she was back to calling him Maximoff again, eh? When Laura had first come to SHIELD, she called everyone by their code name, except Wanda. When she became more familiar with everyone, she started calling them by their last name and if she became close with them, like she did with everyone, she called them by their first name. It was strange how a clone, a trained weapon could easily become close with everyone.

Laura and Wanda had instantly become friends, being the only female members of the team and all. The other people she warmed up to the quickest were Todd and Freddy. They were both fun loving guys who accepted everyone, what's not to love? Then came John, his closeness with Wanda having helped him ease his way onto Laura's good side. Pietro, himself, was next. Laura didn't take to Pietro and his playboy ways right away. She didn't like manipulators and so it seemed strange to everyone when she and Pietro became very close, close enough to consider a steady relationship.

Lance was last. It wasn't because Laura and Lance disliked each other, it wasn't that at all. They had a mutual understanding for each other and respected where the other came from. Lance and his long line of foster homes and instability helped him relate to Laura who came from a long line of mental abusers and physical users. They were both tactical geniuses out in the field and worked wonderfully together on missions. The only thing that kept them from hitting it off right away was Kitty. Lance felt a sense of unadulterated loyalty to Kitty and none of the former Brotherhood members could understand it. Lance was a fun loving and easy going guy, the kind of guy someone got close to, could tell things to. When Lance and Kitty were going out, though, Lance became withdrawn and it was worse between Lance and female members of the team. Lance would withdraw from Wanda, hardly ever talking to her and he kept his distance from Laura except when they were working together on missions. It wasn't like Kitty was a bad person, besides cheating on Lance she and the SHIELD team leader were a good fit but Kitty could get jealous. She hated Lance's team when they were the Brotherhood and she really hated them when they converted to SHIELD. For some reason, Pietro also sensed that Kitty held a strong dislike for Laura. Maybe it was the chemistry that Laura and Lance obviously had with each other or maybe it was because Laura was considerably more attractive than the curve-less phaser, who knew? Whatever it was, it had kept Lance and Laura apart until the break up.

It was only when Laura suddenly cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to the other that Pietro realized that he had been silent for quite some time.

"Uh..." He started. "What was the question?"

Laura once again rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Don't play games with me, Maximoff; you're the one who basically kidnapped me from the hallway. Any particular reason for that?" She asked, leering at him in a way that conveyed deep annoyance.

"Right. Laura, first off, I would like to apologize for my actions the other week. I was very insensitive and I would like to ask your forgiveness." He started, stumbling over some of his words in a manner that was very un-like him.

Laura nodded shortly.

"I forgive you. Can I get some sleep now?" She asked, moving past him and towards the door.

Pietro rolled his eyes at her impatience and grabbed her arm.

"Actually, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about." He stated, laughing nervously at her piercing glare.

Laura huffed and turned to face him, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about our relationship." He started eyes to the floor and a guilty look on his face.

"What relationship?" Laura asked no bitterness in her tone, no sadness just true, genuine inquiry. "We're keeping things casual, remember?"

Pietro, unnerved by her indifferent demeanor, shifted his weight and spoke again.

"I already told you that I was sorry about that. I want to take everything that happened these past couple of weeks back. I want to start fresh with you. You don't know how hard these past few weeks have been on me, Laura. I want the chance of a relationship with you." He informed, eyes blazing with the utmost sincerity.

"Pietro, I'm sorry but I can't." Laura started, looking between Pietro and the floor uneasily. "When you said that you wanted to keep things casual, it hurt for a few days but I got over it. I have someone that I care about now, I didn't see it before but talking with you right now makes me realize that I do." She explained, shooting him an apologetic look.

"Is this about Lance?" Pietro asked, quickly getting angry. She was turning him down to be with a guy who was on the rebound?

"As a matter of fact, it is. Lance needs me, Pietro and I can't abandon him like Kitty did, I won't." She informed, trying to keep her voice quiet and giving him a look that suggested that he should do the same.

"Can't you see what he's doing? He doesn't care about you! He's hurting because Kitty cheated on him, you're his rebound. As soon as Kitty comes crawling back, he'll ditch you in a second and won't think twice about it." Pietro exclaimed.

"That's not true." Laura defended.

"And how do you know? Do you think you know him better than I do? No matter what shit Kitty puts him through, Lance is gonna go back to her every time. Just take my word for it, Laura and save yourself the heartbreak."

"If he was going to go back to Kitty, why did he officially end things when she called yesterday, huh?" Laura asked in a somewhat smug tone.

Pietro, who was about to say something snarky, stopped with his mouth agape. Oh no, it really was happening. He had thrown whatever he could have had with Laura away and now Lance had stolen his second chance. After a few seconds, Pietro shut his gaping mouth and swallowed with difficulty.

Laura instantly felt bad for Pietro but there was nothing she could do. She thought that she had liked him and that she had wanted to be with him but these past weeks with Lance made her think otherwise. Lance was so much fun and full of life, he accepted her as is and didn't try to change her. He didn't want to hide his feelings for her behind some stupid playboy attitude. Lance had devoted himself to her and making her feel better and in the process, he had made her fall deeply in love with him. She hadn't thought it was possible. Years of harsh training and emotional conditioning made her think she would never find true happiness and she was crushed when she thought she had found it with Pietro. Lance made her see that while she had been happy with Pietro, she hadn't been truly happy. She was happy with Lance and just the thought of being with him made her want to squeal with elation but the look on Pietro's face stopped her.

It was the same look Lance had worn minutes earlier. He had asked her to stay with him for the night and she had turned him down. Looking at Pietro now made her angry. She had turned Lance down because she didn't know how she still felt for Pietro but speaking with him now made her want to run back to Lance's room and throw herself into his arms.

Laura's thoughts were broken as Pietro moved to sit down on the edge of his bed, head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Pietro." She started. "I didn't mean for things to turn out this way."

Pietro nodded, noting the sincerity in her voice.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault anyway." He muttered. "I'm sorry for bothering you tonight. You can leave now if you'd like."

Laura nodded and turned to go before stopping and looking back at the forlorn silver-haired speed demon.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked quietly, watching as he nodded. "I hope we can still be friends...Good-night, Pietro." She whispered and then she was gone.

"Good-night, Laura."

* * *

_A few Seconds Later..._

Lance groaned and rubbed his eyes in a groggy manner as a light knock sounded throughout his room. Stumbling from his bed and to the door, he muttered a silent string of curses at whoever disturbed his slumber. He was thoroughly surprised, to say the least, when he opened the door and was greeted by a sheepish looking Laura.

"Is it too late to take you up on your offer?" She asked quietly looking down at the floor, fully prepared to be turned away.

Lance's face broke out into a smug grin and he shook his head before moving to the side, allowing the younger woman entrance to his room. Shutting the door behind her he asked: "Are you sure you're ready for this? I mean sex is one thing, spending a night with someone is different and that thing with Pietro only happened a..."

Laura shushed him mid sentence before sidling up to him and kissing his cheek.

"Positive." She assured before trailing her lips from his cheek, down his jaw and all the way to his lips. "If you can let go of a serious on-and-off relationship and see what's right in front of you, I'm sure that I can let go of a silly crush long enough to see what will make me _truly_ happy." She cooed, laughing as Lance's arms came around her and a goofy smile spread over his face.

"Well now," He started, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "I think that's the best news I've heard all day. And now that I've finally got you all to myself, would you accompany me into a deep slumber?"

Laura laughed at his cheesy smile and fancy words but nodded and giggled like some school girl just the same. As Lance led her to his bed for the second time that night, Laura mused on the different circumstances each situation was under. The first time he had lead her to his bed, it was out of lust, a carnal want for each others bodies. This time, however, he was doing so because he cared for her. He took her hand gently and guided her to his bed in a loving and patient manner; they were about to share something special with each other. They were going to share the same bed in complete innocence and it made her happy to know that he wanted her to simply be there with him. In a world of uncertainty, nothing should be left to chance, especially love. It's all or nothing and right now, Laura had it all.

* * *

_Wow, that feels like it took forever to write. It started out as an X-ietro and somehow ended up being a...a...X-23/Avalanche fic, lol. I don't know why or how it happened but I guess that's what happens when the creative juices start flowing and you let the "inspiration tide" take you where it will. And, I think the pairing is sort of nice now that I've written a fic for it so who knows, there could be more where this came from so I hope you all enjoyed it. Like I said in my beginning notes, this was a first on many levels for me so please be gentle. If you must flame, try to do so nicely and constructively. I'd appreciate any input on this fic so I hope you all see fit to review. _

_Have a wonderful day all._

_-anon goddess_ **;)**


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